Rider (Splinters Alternate Universe)
Rider was two Dark Hunters in one, in a sadistic sense! He served as a permanent informant for the Shadowed One. History Rider was not always the centaur he resembles. Once, Rider was a Vortixx named Dixrix created by Mata Nui thousands of years ago. Though at first he only worked in the shipyards of Xia, he tried to face The Mountain with another Vortixx named Carika to gain honor. Carika would back stab him, leaving him to nearly die upon the Mountain. He would end up surviving. Still thirsting for power, Dixrix stole away on a ship from Xia and found Cartrax. There he found a Galava Horse, one named Stream, which he partnered with and began to ride. He would find his way to the Shadowed One in hopes for greatness. The Shadowed One, knowing Carika was working with another Benefactor (and thus being competition), ordered Dixrix to kill her. He eagerly accepted the assignment. Dixrix and Stream rode toward Destral, tracking down the betrayer before she made it into Makuta Teridax's lair. Dixrix gave chase, but Carika used the Staff of Fusion against him. He got combined with his steed, turning into a creature resembling a centaur. Carika herself would become mutated by Teridax using a Staff of Mutation against her, but Dixrix-Stream had no time to laugh at the traitor's plight. He himself was going slowly insane. Makuta Teridax disposed of him, throwing the poor monster out of Destral. Trotting back to Odina, the fusion started forming a new personality for the duo. Though Dixrix failed, he returned to the Shadowed One claiming to be a "new" being called Rider. This humored the Shadowed One, feeling the disgusting fusion was punishment enough for his failure. Instead of assigning him to any meaningful work, however, the Shadowed One turned him into an informant for the Hunters. Abilities and Traits Rider is equipped with a ginormous mace surrounded by a blade, allowing him to use it both as a polearm and a bludgeoning tool. He had the ability to run at exceptional speeds due to his horse-like legs, and his ability to grasp with his forearms gave him significant edge when battling against moving foes, sometimes using a disk launcher to shoot them down. His speed and cunning allows him to access different buildings and ranks of guilds. He also retains a good sense of investigation skill, and has knowledge about many subjects. His book smarts and street smarts allow him to serve the Shadowed One well. Rider retains some of the pessimistic personality Dixrix once had, while also remaining quick and blunt in thought of the Galava Horse named Stream. This allows him to be horrendously terrible at social interaction, but on the bright side, he retains information excellently. Trivia *Rider was built and written for the 2019 Dark Hunter MOC contest. *This was the first time BIONICLEToa attempted a more unique humanoid build. He was inspired by other centaur builds for MOCs and attempted his own.